06.13.2012 06:20 AM

Trudeau, tale of the tape

More than 150 Nearly 200 comments on the column, below, about the possibility of a Justin Trudeau candidacy. (And nearly 200 over at the Sun site.) There are many, many Liberal commentators passionately debating the idea, most of them in favour.

More interesting, however, is the number of Conservatives frantically attacking Trudeau and trying to convince Grits not to select him as leader. They almost sound panicked.

Like I say: interesting.

36 Comments

  1. JamesHalifax says:

    I’m a Conservative, and I want the dude to run.

    • bluegreenblogger says:

      That’s because you believe your own propaganda.

      • Joey Rapaport says:

        I will switch from Con to Lib after 4 elections if he’s the Leader.

      • JamesHalifax says:

        No, it’s because I believe that once Canadians see how lacking in substance Trudeau is…the more they’ll see he isn’t fit to Govern a country.

        Besides…..the potential vote splitting looks promising. Bring the Liberals back from life support, and make them an actual alternative again in Quebec. Weaken the NDP…and let Conservatives slip up the middle.

        • The Doctor says:

          I agree with James that from a pure logic perspective, Conservatives should favor a JT candidacy, on account of the potential for vote-splitting. Presumably, Conservatives want a reasonably vibrant LPC duking it out with the NDP for the centre-left vote. The situation right now (see latest polls musing about NDP plurality) is not a happy one for the CPC.

          • JamesHalifax says:

            Bingo Doctor.

          • Outsider says:

            This all pre-supposes that Canadians won’t just turn on the Harper Cons to punish them for a litany of lies … and t hese before we know what’s up with the robocall (potential) fiasco. If it is indeed proven that Cons deliberately misled voters, I think you will see a backlash. Let’s not forget that Canada was humming along quite nicely when voters decided to bring the hammer down on the Martin government for adscam. And at the time, there was no great love for Harper. What makes people think we wouldn’t do it again?

        • !o! says:

          You don’t at all see the possibility of a renewed LPC bleeding votes from the CPC? Sure, they’ll take NDP votes, that’s a given, but they’ll also take CPC votes, and the CPC can’t afford to lose many %age points from where they are now. But hey, if you like him, you should vote for him, or whatever liberal candidates runs in your riding. That’ll show those damn NDPers eh?

          • JamesHalifax says:

            !o!…

            I don’t think you have to worry about CPC votes going to too many Liberals, just as I’m sure not too many CPC voters will look to the NDP.

            I think the battle will be between the NDP and LIbs in parts of Quebec, allowing some seperatists to be elected, and the loss of some NDP seats in the toronto Area.

            The CPC vote…is pretty solid.

    • Tim Sullivan says:

      I am heartened by your endorsement. You have been wrong so often and lacking in any critical judgment and facts that Justin Trudeau’s leadership can only be a good thing for the Liberals.

      However, I prefer a hotly contested leadership race, and is Trudeau a) runs and b) selected, I’m good with that BECAUSE you are good with that.

  2. Skinny Dipper says:

    The Conservatives want Bob Rae as leader of the Liberal Party. He has a lot of baggage as being a former premier of Ontario. The Conservatives can attack him on Mr. Rae’s former policies. Also, Bob Rae is good for one more election. That means that the Liberals would have to pick another leader four years from now.

    Justin Trudeau and other Liberal MPs have potential for growth. The Liberals may not win the next election. However, under Trudeau or another relatively young leader, the party could build for two elections from now.

    Support for Bob Rae may be a mile wide but an inch high. one strong attack on Bob Rae or one bad move by him means that support for him and the Liberal Party may evaporate.

  3. Jordan says:

    I’ve been critical of the idea of Trudeau running but I am starting to warm up to the thought of him going for it. Hopefully a leadership run would show off how he feels on policies and add some substance to him, I also hope he’s not to left.

  4. Glen says:

    Just goes to show how little substance matters in politics. When your last name and flowing locks can get you elected, you know you’re in good shape.

    • Mulletaur says:

      The Liberal Party of Canada is back to hoping for miracles once again only because ‘Bob the Builder’ failed to deliver. Doomed, I tell ya, doomed.

      • The Doctor says:

        I think Rae was just an example of bad timing, the wrong guy for the time. Had Rae taken over a reasonably vibrant LPC he might have been fine for the job. But now, in contrast to Mulcair, Rae looks old and tired — and he’s too left-wing a Liberal to differentiate himself much from the NDP. Right now, the LPC looks like a kind of lame-o NDP Lite, and that’s a recipe for irrelevancy. Which is why I thnk a JT candidacy makes sense in the current context.

        • Philip says:

          Exactly this point. Rae instead Dion would have made for an interesting contest with the Conservatives in 2006. Rae couldn’t have been competitive in 2015 coming off, as you say, as NDP-lite. Right guy, wrong time indeed. I have always liked and respected Bob Rae as a person and a politician, his decision today has only increased that respect.

        • JamesHalifax says:

          Hey Doc….

          I think you’ll find that Justin is even more to the left than Rae. In fact, I’m sure he’s even more to the left of mulcair.

          • Pomojen says:

            And you say that based on what exactly… Not necessarily disagreeing with you but I Gail to see evidence of this.

          • Tim Sullivan says:

            Based on what? Ooops, sorry, JamesHalifax, don’t mean to call out your BS again, asking for evidence and stuff.

          • JamesHalifax says:

            Don’t sweat it Tim……I know that evidence has little meaning for you, regardless of whether I post it or not.

            In fact, when you wrote that Jews dying in the holocaust was inaccurate…I pretty much gave up paying you any mind at all.

  5. Ted H says:

    “And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the universe is unfolding as it should”

    Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau

  6. Tiger says:

    Well, analytically speaking, Liberals would be stupid not to consider Trudeau. Large, large upside.

  7. bluegreenblogger says:

    The Liberal Leadership is going to be very different from past races. The supporter category means that every campaign will have to reach out to the entire Canadian populace. I think that is a good thing, because the campaigns will be obliged to do the work of building supporter lists from the general population, qualifying them, finding out their interests, and motivating them to cast a ballot on eday. Sound familiar? Yep, just like a general election campaign. Trudeau will have a huge edge because he has just about the best name recognition. Just watch, there will be a stampede to the microphones when the candidates all realise they are fighting a general election, not a rent-a-member contest. It cannot fail to build the Party ‘Brand’. If the Liberals want to really capitalise on the race, they will provide tools to the candidates that allow them to profile their supporters on a shared database platform. You can allow them to keep their data secret until the race is over, then open up the data for the Party to use for future party building efforts. If that happens, then the Liberal party will be really and truly strengthened on a permanent basis. That is important enough that all Liberals should be pushing the leadership to make it happen

    • The Doctor says:

      That’s a good point about the new supporter category, you’re right, I could see that favouring JT with his name recognition.

  8. Bubba says:

    The panic is not because conservatives fear the smarts of this guy – it is because they fear the stupidity of the electorate that, in this The Age of American Idol and celebrity worship, will vote for this guy because someone told them he “has rock-star good looks” – whatever that means Shane MacGowan. It is the fear of watching a slow-moving train-wreck where the mainstream media desperate to regurgitate old news rather than actually write something original will resurrect “Trudeaumedia” (now there’s an idea for an office pool – the date the first hack comes up with that kelpie phrase) and Canadian Electorate desperate not to miss out on this “moment in history” (hello 99’ers!), do the zombie walk toward Justin Beiber – sorry i mean trudeau – and the keys to the country are left in the hands of one half of Ken and Barbie (unless…… Barbie Stronach comes back as Finance Minister – in her pink Cadillac!!!!!! OMG Like WOW LOL!!!!). Trudeau should leave the running of the country to the adults and go back to his Street Fighter video game.

    • David_M says:

      HAHA The party that relied so heavily on the gullibility of the electorate (we will be different-open!honest!transparent!ACCOUNTABLE!), now fears its stupidity. priceless.

    • Ted H says:

      You are right, the Conservatives fear the stupidity of the electorate and understand it very well, that is how they got into power. Think about it, it is a fact and I am not just slagging conservatives.

      • Bubba says:

        Big C, little c what begins with C? Camel on the Ceiling – C, C, C. You will note that i did not use a capital C – The Conservative Party of Canada is not a conservative party. But I would agree with Ted H’s comment more than David_M’s – the Conservatives don’t fear the the stupidity of the electorate, they understand and use it – unlike the Liberals whose disdain and contempt of the electorate is why they are now a third place party.

  9. Byron says:

    I’m always amused at the obsession of the cons with the 3rd place LPC.

    If only, they would obsess over the economy as much.

    • JamesHalifax says:

      Byron, the Liberals being in third place is just a moment in time. All parties will rise and fall, and they always will. Conservatives pay attention to the Liberals because they are the real competition. If in fact, the NDP ever won Government in 2015….it would be a very short honeymoon until Canadians realized the error of their ways. That would leave the Libs and Conservatives to fight for the next election.

      If the NDP even acted upon 20% of their ideology….the country would be so badly damaged, and the NDP reputation so badly diminished, they wouldn’t be a contender again for a generation.

  10. Dan says:

    Don’t the Conservatives make the same ridiculous attacks on EVERYONE though?

    Two Conservative idiots don’t make a panic.

  11. Stan Decker says:

    Can’t help but wonder if someone in some back room isn’t working on getting Alison Redford interested in the Liberal leadership…

  12. Carlos says:

    SUN Disqus commenters tend to be rather… let’s say right-leaning and angry.

  13. Mike says:

    Personally, I think that Bob Rae is an admirable person with lots of dignity and grace. Stepping aside and not running for the leadership was the right move by Mr. Rae at this time, and when the new leader is chosen, Mr. Rae will be there to help the new leader take over.

    That all said, I suspect that the CPC and the NDP are not thrilled that Mr. Rae stepped aside. Some Con supporters are already crowing about the lack of seasoned leadership hopefuls and thinking that Trudeau or anyone else will be pushovers in 2015. The fact is that 2015 is still a long ways away and no one has any idea of what can or may happen in between now and 2015, much less knowing what the mood of the electorate will be in 2015 at this time. My advice to all CPC and NDP supporters is the old adage, “Be careful of what you wish for, as it might just come back to haunt you.”

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